New Rochelle was the scene of the first court-ordered
school desegregation case in "
the North" when the
United States Supreme Court decided in the 1961
Taylor v. Board of Education of New Rochelle New York court case that its Lincoln School boundaries had been intentionally drawn to create segregated elementary school districts. Lincoln School was closed and demolished in 1965, with students of that district allowed to attend other elementary schools in the city. The school district is known for its diversity, and the high school honors civil rights leader
Whitney Young in the name of its auditorium and civil rights martyr
Michael Schwerner in the name of its library. In May 1968,
New Rochelle High School was partially destroyed by a fire set by a disturbed student. The fire occurred early in the morning and there were no fatalities. The facade of the school remained intact, allowing builders to construct a new building behind the original exterior. In 1981 four of the district's elementary schools were closed due to declining enrollment: Mayflower, Roosevelt, Barnard, and Stephenson. Their students were transferred to Ward, Davis, and Trinity elementary schools.
Notable alumni Notable alumni sorted by graduation date. •
Edward A. Batchelor (Unknown graduation date), sportswriter and charter member of the
Baseball Writers' Association of America •
Elia Kazan 1926 -
Academy Award-winning director •
James Gregory 1930 - stage, screen and TV actor •
Marion West Higgins 1932 - first female
Speaker of the
New Jersey General Assembly •
Henry Heimlich 1937 - inventor of the
Heimlich Maneuver •
Gloria Oden 1939 - African American poet •
Don Hewitt 1940 - producer of
60 Minutes •
Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. 1943 - billionaire, and co-founder of
private equity firms
KKR and
Kohlberg & Co. •
Louis Rukeyser 1950 - TV personality, economic commentator •
Jesse Arnelle 1950 - football and basketball player at
Penn State University •
Barrie M. Osborne 1962 - 2004 Academy Award-winning film producer (
Lord of the Rings) •
Andrea Mitchell 1963 - journalist •
Jeralyn Merritt 1967 - criminal defense attorney, legal analyst, blogger •
Guy Davis 1970 - musician, son of actors
Ossie Davis and
Ruby Dee •
Gloria Borger 1970 - CBS special correspondent •
Cristina Teuscher 1996 - Olympic gold medalist swimmer •
Jennifer Hyman 1998 - entrepreneur •
Tom Koehler 2004 -
Miami Marlins Pitcher •
Courtney Greene 2005 -
Jacksonville Jaguars free safety •
Ray Rice 2005 -
Baltimore Ravens Running back. Reserve on 2009 AFC Pro Bowl team.
Super Bowl XLVII champion •
Edson Buddle - US National Soccer Team ==Schools==